This is the first skull I ever owned, Coyote. I got it at a powwow, VERY long ago, I was like 14 when I got this particular skull. I had never actually moved it around a ton, it's been sitting on my desk a LOOONG time (in my old room at my mom's house)

I brought it home today and It's been about a year since I've held it, now looking at it... it doesn't look like a coyote skull at all....It's a lot more.... robust. broader snoot, much thicker in the jaw and in the muzzle. The skull is generally more rounded and less pointy than the other 2 coyote I have on hand. The shape is just REALLY different..

Teeth look identical, but it just looks off.... Does anyone have any idea on this guy?

I'm thinking it might be some kind of coy-dog or domestic dog... It's a little troubling to think I got this at a powwow and I was sold something like this and it was not genuine....I mean... It totally could've been a mistake... But I'm pretty sure this is not a pure coyote....

The left most coyote and two right most coyotes are typical Females/smaller males while skulls #2 and #3, are Much wider and more mature. This characteristic is much more exagerated in coyotes from the midwest and eastern seaboard.

i was about the say the same thing as ~WolfHaunt, i have an eastern yote' skull that looks just like the one in questiontheres always the possibility that it came from a coydog, especially if you're out west, but the basic proportions match an eastern coyote.

It's a Eastern Yoter, I have my Yearling eastern yoters skull and it's the exact same shape, and robustness, even though it's likely smaller due to him being younger, but if he had been at full maturity, then it would've looked just like yours.

Oh Thanks, I really didn't realize the shapes varied by region, I knew that with pelts.As soon as I picked this up in my room I just felt like it was WAY rounded, compared to the 2 I've been working with in my current house.

Yeah, it's truly amazing. ^^ It's believed that Yoters in the East bred with red wolves, giving a larger, more robust, wolfy looking yote that we know today. ^^ I LOVE eastern yotes, I think they are the most gorgeous yotes around, I am totally in love with my male. xD I would say take a look at my male yotes skull against my females, but it's not a very good comparison because she is still just a juvenile, so her skull is still mostly "puppy bone" so her skull is very fox looking and is only the size of a ranched fox.

I've never even seen a wild coyote around here, I've heard them before though I know wild dogs are VERY rare around here, they pick up strays pretty much immediately (I've called in 3 last Summer running around in traffic :/

It's very intresting, the difference in skulls, I'll have to track down a western 'yote, I have NO idea where the other two I have came from

Good point, for the record, this part of the state has no wild dogs all. The closest things would be farm dogs, some of which are goven some freedom, although most farmers put their dogs up for the night.

Dogs and coyote don't really breed all the easily. Wikipedia says that coydogs are much more common is southern states, due to the extended 'yote breeding season.